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Awaiting big trade, Marisnick dons Blue Jays jersey

Awaiting big trade, Marisnick dons Blue Jays jersey

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Jake Marisnick wore his Blue Jays jersey in the AFL championship game, since he is waiting on approval to a trade with the Marlins.

By Jonathan Mayo
/
MLB.com |

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Jake Marisnick found out he was going to be able to play in Saturday's Arizona Fall League championship game a couple of days ago. He just wasn't sure what jersey he'd be playing in.

The outfielder, currently ranked No. 35 on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospect list, is in organizational limbo currently, a part of the blockbuster Blue Jays-Marlins trade that awaits approval from the Commissioner's Office. Batting ninth and playing center field for the Salt River Rafters in Saturday's game, Marisnick wore his Blue Jays jersey, but he did have a contingency plan in case anything got finalized during the game.

"I have the [Marlins] jersey in the locker room, so we'll see what happens," said Marisnick, currently No. 2 on the Blue Jays' Top 20. "That's the word right now. If it goes through, then I'll switch jerseys."

The deal was first reported on Tuesday, with the Blue Jays set to acquire Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio in return for Yunel Escobar, Henderson Alvarez, Jeff Mathis and a group of prospects: Marisnick, Adeiny Hechavarria, Justin Nicolino and Anthony Desclafani.

Marisnick has taken some good-natured ribbing from his Salt River teammates in stride. During batting practice, if he had a poor swing, he heard calls of "They better call the trade off" or "The Fish won't like that." He's managed to keep his sense of humor throughout.

"I'm definitely getting a lot of jokes about it, about what jersey I'm wearing, the trade not being finalized yet," Marisnick said. "It's been an interesting couple of days.

"It's a little different. It's my first time being traded. I didn't really know how it worked."

Marisnick has had his physical and all of the logistics are taken care of, so when this deal is made official, he'll be ready to become part of the Marlins' organization and form an intriguing outfield prospect tandem with Christian Yelich.

"A couple of guys here have been traded before," Marisnick said. "Having the chance to talk with them is a good situation. They talked about how, at first, it's a little bit different. You have to go into a new system, meet the new guys, the new staff. For all them, they said the transition was smooth. I'm looking forward to it. I'm pretty excited."

He was even more excited that he could suit up on Saturday. Both the Blue Jays and Marlins gave the OK for Marisnick to play, regardless of the status of the trade. There have been instances in the past when a prospect has been traded here, but then was shut down to avoid any last-minute injuries.

"I'm just excited to be able to play," Marisnick said. "I was really looking forward to it."

Jonathan Mayo is a reporter for MLB.com and writes a blog, B3. Follow @JonathanMayoB3 on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.